The El Paso County Parking Garage — located about a half-mile from the Downtown ballpark — may extend its operating hours to accommodate El Paso Chihuahuas fans and others on game days.

The El Paso County Commissioners on Monday will consider whether to keep the garage open late at standard parking rates during the first two weeks of the team's home games. The county would then would gauge interest, use and revenues before deciding whether to keep the extended hours throughout the baseball season, officials said.

"We had spoken in general about hopefully capitalizing on the need for parking in the area while providing a service to the community," County Judge Veronica Escobar said. "If we can offer spectators a secure place to park while increasing our revenues, then it's worth doing."

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Cindy Ramirez

Commissioners would have to fund overtime of about $1,000 to staff the parking garage during the trial starting with the first home game April 28. If it proves successful, the county could then cover the staffing costs with the generated revenues, said Monique Aguilar, the county's facilities manager.

"We don't know what kind of interest we'll have because of our distance from the ballpark, so we'll need to gauge the use," Aguilar said. "And if it does get used, we don't know if people will come right back after the game or stay Downtown for a few hours after."

The 800-space garage at 500 E. Overland and Kansas is about a 10-minute walk from Southwest University Park, home of the El Paso Chihuahuas Triple A baseball team.

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Escobar said the garage may seem far from the ballpark, but commented that she often walked the distance — in heels — when the ballpark site was home to the former City Hall building.

The public garage is now open roughly from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but often opens earlier and stays open a little later depending on its use, Aguilar said. Those hours could be extended through about 10 or 11 p.m., or later if needed, she added.

It costs $5 to park at the garage for more than 30 minutes, and credit, debit, check and cash payments are accepted. That rate would likely remain, Aguilar said.

About 200 of the 800 spaces are now used by city, county, state and federal employees, as well as others who work Downtown, who buy monthly parking passes.

MountainStar Sports Group, the Chihuahuas' owners, last month requested to use the county's parking garage for game-day employees in what it called an "informal inquiry." The two failed to reach an agreement, and MountainStar said it has had similar conversations with other parking lot and garage owners as it tries to accommodate its staff.

Together with the Downtown Management District, Sun Metro and MountainStar, the city has been putting together parking and traffic maps for the public in advance of opening day. The maps are available on the city's website at home.elpasotexas.gov.

Sun Metro will also offer park-and-ride shuttles from six locations, its transit and transfer centers, with direct service to the ballpark. Those schedules and other information is available at sunmetro.net